… your whole body will be full of light

by Roger Mock

This is one of the slightly more enigmatic sayings of Jesus in the New Testament. Here is the whole passage from Luke 11.34-36:

Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is single,
your whole body is full of light;
but when it is not single, your body is full of darkness.
Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 
If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark,
it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.

It’s the use of the word “single” that I find so interesting. Other translations opt for “when your eye is sound” or “clear,” and those certainly make sense. But the word “single” has other resonances – with, for example the “third eye” of the Hindu and Taoist traditions, a kind of inner gate that, when opened, leads to Divine revelation and higher consciousness.

Christian teacher Father Richard Rohr equates the concept of the third eye with mystical sight. He refers to the first eye as physical sight and the second eye as the eye of reason. But the mystics, he says, “know not to confuse knowledge with depth, or mere correct information with the transformation of consciousness itself. The mystical gaze builds upon the first two eyes—and yet goes further.” Rohr refers to this level of awareness as “having the mind of Christ.”

In looking for writings from other traditions that find resonance with the Gospel passage, I discovered this one from the Native American tradition and the writings of Oglala Sioux medicine man Black Elk:

I am blind and do not see the things of this world;
but when the light comes from above,
it enlightens my heart and I can see,
for the Eye of my heart sees everything;
and through this vision I can help my people. 
The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space,
wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. 
This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things,
and through which we see Him. 
If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen.

Now that’s resonance! And it really serves to amplify in a wonderful way the saying of Jesus as recorded in Luke. Black Elk states it quite plainly and authoritatively: “The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which… the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. …If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen.” Indeed the passage is so close to Luke’s in content and meaning that it begs the question, ‘Did Black Elk know the passage from Luke and was this his commentary on it?’ Almost certainly. The medicine man married a Catholic woman in 1892 and a year after death in 1903 entered the faith himself. He allowed his Catholicism, however, to be deeply imbued and illuminated by his Lakota heritage.

I love the richness that results from the marriage of two such seemingly disparate traditions. It’s why I am passionate about a multi-faith or “interspirituality” approach and it’s why I chose to devote the last year to interfaith studies at All Faiths Seminary. I invite you to join us again this Sunday evening (6:00 pm) when we will reflect a bit more on these and other passages and honor and celebrate that Inner Light.

May the pure light within you shine ever bright, guiding your journey with grace and ease.

Blessings,
Roger